I spend a whole lot of my time watching tv shows: American, Taiwanese and Korean. Korean tv shows are my ultimate guilty pleasure! They come up with the craziest storylines and they’re terribly addicting. I honestly can’t help but wonder how the Korean celebrities pull of their looks! Straight, archless brows, glowing skin, tangerine cheeks, stained lips, etc. I’m amazed at how Korean beauty brands have been able to create millions of products that really cater to its women but I’m also happy that more Filipino beauty brands are doing that same thing for Filipinas. But lucky for us, other cultural trends are so easily within our reach through the arrival of their beauty products.

Product

Stained lips are all the rage right now in Korea and I’m so excited to share the cult product that can achieve this trendy look. Skinaz The Kisaable Lips 24h Lip Tattoo comes in 5 beautiful colors: Girlish Pink, Orange Marmalade, Spicy Red, and Burgundy Shower. But for today, I’ll only be talking about girlish pink. The lip tattoo comes comes in a lipgloss tube and contains 13ml worth of product. It’s such a unique, trendy product and I’ve never encountered anything like it. It’s designed to be applied lavishly on the lips. Once it is dried out, a layer of the product is supposed to be peeled off the lips leaving a natural stain on the lips.

Shade

Girlish pink initially looks like an outrageous, almost neon pink but the stain that it leaves really lives up to it’s name. The stain it leaves is truly reminiscent of the naturally stained lips that I keep on seeing on Korean actresses. It’s amazing.

Application and Texture

The texture is very similar to a clear lip gloss. It’s sticky and tacky but I think it’s designed as such in order for the product to work. Upon application, I felt a very mild sting on my lips. It’s not too uncomfortable, but it’s there. After a few seconds, my lips starting sticking to each other. However, in order to remove the product perfectly, I kept my mouth shut for a good 5-10 minutes until the gloss completely dried down. Once it was dry, I carefully took off the layer of product with mild difficulty, given that my lips are perpetually dry.

Longevity

Although it claims to last for 24 hours, I find that the stain diminished after my first meal. At the end of the day, a very light and subtle stain remained on my lips.

Tips and Instructions on How to Use:

1. For those with dry lips, make sure to moisturize your lips with clear petroleum jelly or any lip conditioning product. Apply the product generously until your lips are coated with the product evenly. I tried using a regular amount of product and I ended up peeling just a small amount of product which is why I recommend that a generous amount of product is applied.

bare, conditioned lips

2. Wait until the product dries down. Carefully peel off the product.

waitinggg…..

carefully peel off the product

3. For those with dry lips, finish off with a colorless lip conditioner.

viola!

Final Thoughts

I love the product for the uniqueness of the experience it brings. There are a lot of lipstains in the market but this is the first time I’ve experienced having to apply and peel something off my lips. I like the natural, Korean-style pinkish shade that it leaves on my lips. However, this type of product doesn’t really suit my problematic dry lips even if I apply a lip conditioner beforehand. My lips always have excess dry skin waiting to be peeled off and this doesn’t really go well with the dynamics of this product. However, I’ve seen a ton of videos of girls with plump and juicy lips looking being able to pull of this product so, I think a lot of girls still will enjoy this product. Also, this might not be for girls who are always on the run because application involves a few steps of waiting. However, I can still also imagine this working for a lot of girls who enjoy taking their time when applying makeup, and of course for those who want to achieve Korean-stained-lips.

xoxo,

*This is a sponsored post but all thoughts and comments are completely mine.

I can’t remember the last time I got all excited about gel-liners. I’ve always felt like they aren’t worth the hefty price tag because I don’t get to maximize their value. Based on experience, my old high-end gel liner dried up too quickly for me to even finish up HALF THE POT. Because of this, I stuck to the liners that had longer shelf lives–liquid liners and pencil liners.

When I found out about the new ground-breaking Benefit They’re Real Push-up Liner, I definitely got excited. Reading about the amazing feedback from my fellow Filipina bloggers sealed the deal and had me dying to try it out for myself. Luckily, the boyfriend (J) knew how much I’ve been lemming over the product and decided to give it to me as one of his gifts on my birthday.

Product

I went home and excitedly tested it out on myself as soon as I could. The first thing that caught my eye was the accuflex tip which is truly a genius idea. I’ve never heard of anything quite like it. It’s a flexible angled rubber tip uniquely designed to hug the lashline and angled in order to easily create a flick at the end of the lash line.

I had to twist the butt of the pen a tad bit too many times in order to let the product out. Finally after what seemed like forever, the gel liner started coming out of the the tiny slit at the tip.

As I started applying it as close to the lash line as possible, I noticed that it’s very tricky to create a very thin line due to the way the tip is made. The gel liner is a true matte black and is pigmented enough for my liking. Initially, the formula was a bit drier than I would have wanted it to be and its texture was almost clay-like. So much so, that there are times when I have to tug on my eyelid and in order to fill out the broken line. It also dried out way to quickly for me to do minor damage control (aka evening out the line) and going back on a line that’s already dried caused flaking and clumpling.

Around my 4th try, I noticed that the gel became a bit easier to work with because the texture of the gel became a teeny bit more liquified. I don’t know if what happened to my pen happens to all other pens or if the gel in my pen just became a bit more liquified due to accidental exposure near my heated curling tools. However, even after the formula became a bit wetter, it still never dried out to a clean solid line. From a far, the line looks fine but upon closer inspection, one would notice how the line it creates is slightly crooked.

clumping under my eyes………. yikes.

Despite all this, this eyeliner still had some saving graces up its sleeve. It stays put and does not budge at all. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Experts in eyeliner application will love this feature but beginners will hate it because the liner isn’t easy to fix even with a cotton bud soaked in makeup remover. Initially, I thought that the accuflex tip was genius to be designed to hug the lash-line and create thin lines. However, I think the accuflex tip is perfect for creating bold graphic lines with equally bold flicks/edges.

Final Thoughts

So the burning question is: WILL I RE-PURCHASE?

Sadly, the answer is no. I really wanted to LOVE this product. I wanted to love it more because it was a gift from J. And it broke my heart to tell him that I turned out not liking the product. I couldn’t lie to him because he reads my blog (Hi Josh!) so, there.

Although I know that there are quite a number of women out there who have found their way into making this product work for them, I’m just going to be honest and say that I don’t think the results of the liner do not justify the struggle of the entire process of applying the liner. I was so excited about this product for two reasons: the convenience of not having to bring a brush around to apply gel liner and the longer shelf life. I find that applying the liner makes a huge mess and I especially hate how I have to tug on my extremely delicate lids to even come close to a “perfect” line. It also takes a good 5-10 minutes before I get to create a look I’m satisfied with. I barely have enough time to get ready for school and I just don’t have the patience to work with this product. Finally, trying to edit out mistakes with a cotton bud soaked in makeup remover also proved to be a struggle.

I can see how this product can work for a lot of other people but I just really don’t have the time and patience to work with it enough to fall in love with it.

Being a HUGE fan of benefit products, I was extremely surprised at how disappointed I was with this product. All of my Benefit products have turned out to be favorites of mine and I hope that they can release another formula that’s more user-friendly.

Recommendations

Given that it creates very thick lines, the eyeliner is perfect for those who have a lot of lid space. Unfortunately, I have typical Asian eyes and barely any lid space which is why I find that this liner really does not suit me.

However, I think this liner is perfect for those who have a lot of lid space and those who like to wear thick lines on a daily basis.

Tips: (for those who want to try this product out anyway)

DO NOT THROW OUT THE ORANGE STOPPER IT COMES WITH, in order to make your liner last longer

work quickly as the product dries faster than you can blink you eye (I’m just kidding, but it really dries quickly)

do not try to draw on your existing lines as it will only cause flaking and will make your line even more uneven

That’s all for now, guys! Do you have this product too? I’m dying to know your experience with the product so LET ME KNOW in the comments below. :)

I don’t think I’ve talked about this topic much in my blog but I guess it’s better late than never! As much as I love makeup, I don’t wear a lot of makeup everyday because I know that the chemicals from makeup can really be bad for your skin. However when I DO wear makeup, I make sure to thoroughly remove the makeup from my face because sleeping with makeup on is one of the biggest beauty sins you should never commit! Here are some of my favorite makeup removers:

Biefesta, Bioderma, Lancome

Lancome Bifacil

Lancome Bifacil would have to be my go to cleanser for when I have a heavy makeup look on my face. I think it’s my most hardcore makeup remover in my collection. It’s not 100% oil based but instead it’s half made of oil and another half made up of a water-based liquid. I absolutely hate the feeling of cleansing oils on my face but I do know that oil-based cleansers are one of the most (if not the most) effective when it comes to wiping off makeup. Thus, Lancome Bifacil is the perfect cleanser for me because it has the right amount of “oiliness” because it does the job of wiping of even the most stubborn kind of makeup in the most comfortable manner. It’s honestly the only makeup remover with oil that I can tolerate. It’s very gentle on the skin but dissolves makeup like a boss!

Price: 1550

Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution

I purchased this cult and makeup artist favorite while I was in France. This is from the pink line, which is for sensitive skin (it’s also good for normal skin) while the green line is for oily skin. It was difficult trying to communicate with the French pharmacist but thank God I managed to get the right one for me. What makes this cleanser so special is that it’s classified as a Micelle cleanser. I read about the scientific explanation but I’m too lazy to try to grasp it enough to summarize how it works. To simplify things, it’s a type of cleanser that doesn’t need rinsing because the cleanser has special molecules that are able to dissolve makeup right away. The cleanser itself feels like WATER on skin, GASP I’M IN LOVE. Surprisingly, this water-like cleanser is pretty effective when it comes to melting away makeup. Some stubborn kinds of makeup may need extra attention but this is generally powerful enough to remove your daily makeup. It’s also perfect for those who are on the go and have no access to a sink. I love it! It feels so refreshing on the skin and this can also act like a non-drying toner. I still prefer to rinse after using this although it’s tempting to just skip the rinsing part but I guess once in a while it won’t hurt to just skip it. It’s also fragrant free!

Price: 13.90 EU / 847 PHP

Bifesta Bright-up Cleansing Lotion

This is a water-based cleanser and is honestly quite similar to the Bioderma Sensibio H20 cleanser. The Bifesta line features four versions of their cleanser: bright up for normal skin, sebum for oily skin, agecare for mature skin and moist for dry skin. It feels so refreshing on the skin, it’s very gentle, and efficiently removes makeup It also doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry at all. Although it doesn’t remove waterproof makeup easily, it can still remove waterproof makeup after some swipes. It’s also scent free. Like the Bioderma cleanser, this is also designed to be a rinse-free makeup cleanser. It’s perfect for those really late nights when you just really wanna doze off as soon as you can. What I love about this is that it’s so much more accessible than the Bioderma cleanser and it’s also more affordable. Since I find that the two are quite similar, I think I’ll be grabbing more of the Bifesta cleanser.

Price (Sasa) : 59HKD / 330PHP; also available in Beauty Bar

Final Tips

For heavy eye makeup/stubborn makeup, soak cotton pad in cleanser and gently press the pad onto skin for about 5 seconds before you wipe away your makeup. Soak a cotton bud in cleanser and use it to remove eyeliner and mascara residue.

One of the most famous makeup products of all makeup history would have to be the YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch. Of course, there are so much more famous makeup products out there. However, it’s really hard to not know or not hear about this gold pen. A makeup addict cannot call herself one if she hasn’t at least heard about this Super Mega Holy Grail status concealer. Given this, I was so curious as to why so many women rave about this alleged magical gold pen. Fast forward to the time I was in Sephora, I don’t know what crazy spirit inhabited my body to shell out $41 or (Php 1824.09) but I did. I think it’s the Sephora magic or hex (teehee) because that glorious makeup heaven can make women (and men) go crazy!

Product

The YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch contains 2.5 ml worth of product (I just realized how small the product content is, ouch…). The product itself has 12 different shades to cater to women of different complexions.The gold exterior of the pen lives up to its price tag because the pen looks so damn luxurious. The pen has a small brush as its applicator and it has a neat button at the end of the pen to release product. I like how it’s so easy to apply the product because of the super soft brush and button at the back of the pen.

Shade and Formulation

I got the shade 2.5 which is called luminous vanilla is for those who have light to medium complexions with warm undertones. I think the shade matches my skin tone in general but is a touch lighter than my skin tone. I really do not mind it being bit lighter than my normal skin tone because it’s perfect for brightening the skin.

The YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch is supposed to be a versatile product and can be used as an under eye concealer and highlighter. I remember the girl from Sephora telling me about how great of an under eye concealer it is. After using it for a few weeks now, I honestly think it fails an under eye concealer. The consistency is really light and does not cover up the dark shadows under my eyes very well.

But wait, don’t get too disappointed just yet! This product has been raved about for a reason and I have to admit, every rave this product receives is well deserved. If this product fails miserably as a concealer, it wins triumphantly as a brightener and highlighter. As I was desperately trying to make this super-expensive-allegedly-magical pen to work on me, I tried applying it on top of my under eye concealer. GUESS WHAT? It worked! I really think that it gave my the heavy baggage my under eyes carry a push! I also applied it on top of my cheek bones, around the shadows of my mouth, my brow bone, nose bridge, and it really did brighten the said areas. I swear, it’s like instant coffee right out of a golden pen to make you like awake and radiant!

Longevity

Since the product has a light consistency, it may tend to wear off after 5-6 hours considering that I don’t sweat easily.

Tips and Recommendations

I love love this beautiful golden and wand and it’s highlighting properties. I do recommend it to those who have the money to spare. It’s a great product but not really a must have (pls don’t kill me). I feel like I can still create the same effect of this product using different makeup products for less the price. Therefore personally, it has not reached holy grail status. I’m going to enjoy every last bit of this product while it lasts but I do not think I’m going to repurchase it any time soon. This is because I don’t think it’s worth the price the second time around. A single pen of this can already get me a super nice liquid foundation. I think that the price this pen is worth it just for experience. Do you get what I’m trying to say? :)

If you do purchase it, here are some ways you can use it: on your cheek bones, around the shadows of your mouth, brow bone, nose bridge, shadows around your nose, etc. Carefully dab small amounts on the said areas and dab your ring finger gently onto your skin to blend everything flawlessly.

what do you guys think?? :) let me know in your comments below! What is your perfect under eye concealer and brightener? :)

Today I’d like to share with you my secret weapon against acne: tea tree oil. I’m genuinely grateful for being blessed with parents who both do not have acne prone skin. I’m saying this based on my experience but my mother’s and father’s sides of the family both do not have acne prone skin (THANK GOD) which is why I don’t get acne very often. Once in a while, pimples DO appear on my face. I used to just let their pimple lives run their course on my face because they weren’t bad enough to make me want to find a way to make them disappear. Until one time, I had a huge pimple on my chin and it hurt really badly. I’ve been hearing about tea tree oil and how it can help acne disappear so I tried it and it worked! :)

I decided to compile 10 fast facts about tea tree oil just to make this post easier to read. :)

Tea tree oil is produced from the leaves of the tea tree which is native to Australia.

The tea tree oil breaks through the dirt which causes acne and the anti-bacterial properties in the oil kills the bacteria that causes acne.

When used, less people experience itching, stinging, burning, and dryness which are some of the side affects of using benzoyl peroxide.

It’s a natural remedy which can be used to treat dandruff, head lice, athlete’s foot, yeast infections and more.

Tips:

The tee tree oil that I use is from the Body Shop and it’s already diluted and may be applied directly onto the skin.

If you purchase pure tea tree oil, make sure to dilute it with water because tea tree oil in its purest from may cause irritation, redness, blistering.

You may use your finger, a cotton swab, or a cotton ball to apply to the affected area.

Some people add drops of tea tree oil to lotion or aloe vera gel and then apply it to the affected areas.

Some people add it to their baths, moisturizer and even cleanser.

I prefer to do spot treatments and apply only on the affected areas.

Final Thoughts

I’m not a dermatologist and I’m saying this based on my personal research and personal experience. People’s skin react to products differently so you should try this at your own risk. I’m not prone to allergies which is why I wasn’t so scared to try this. If you have cystic acne or really intense acne, you may have to go to a dermatologist for that. Overall, tea tree oil really does wonders for my occasional breakouts and it has worked for some of my frieds who use it as well. I do recommend it for those who have light to moderate acne. :) I’m so glad that I finally have power over my pimples. (bwahahaha *evil laugh of triumph*)

How do you treat your pimples? Do you use tea tree oil as well? Let me know in your comments below!

This is a bit late but I figured that it’s better late than never. :) I was thinking of blog topics and I decided to make a summer essentials post because it’s super timely. I’m not saying that one should keep on buying new products every season but it’s important to adjust one’s makeup and beauty products according to the weather/season.

I’ve listed down 12 summer essentials:

1. Sunblock

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion

This is favorite sunblock for the face because my face doesn’t feel oily upon application. I cannot stress enough how important it is to apply sun block every day! If you don’t want premature wrinkles, suns spots, and early sign of skin aging, PUT SUNBLOCK EVERYDAY.

OTHER OPTIONS: Neutrogena has good sunblock too!

2. Moisturizer

Shiseido The Skincare Day Moisture protection and Celeteque Facial Moisturizer

Always keep your face hydrated! My go-to moisturizer is the Shiseido one but I recently purchased the Celeteque one and I’m like it so far! It’s less than 300 bucks and it’s a lot cheaper than my Shiseido one.

3. Lip Balm

Carmex

Moisturizing your face isn’t enough; you should also give some love to your lips! :)

4. Primer

MUD Face Primer

A face primer is a must for those who absolutely need to apply liquid foundation. This keeps your foundation in place.

5. BB Cream/ Foundation (light coverage)

Etude House BB Magic Cream

I personally like to apply as little makeup as I can when the weather is super hot. I’d rather just conceal the imperfection on my skin than put on foundation or bb cream all over my face. However, I know that some of you can’t avoid wearing foundation, go for a light BB cream or a foundation with a light coverage.

6. Powder (powder foundation or loose powder)

Laura Mercier Tranlucent Powder

Don’t forget to set your BB Cream/ foundation with a powder to keep everything in place! For those who don’t ike wearing BB creams or liquid foundations, you may use a powder foundation to even out your skin tone. I don’t use powder foundations which is why my picture here is only a translucent powder.

Other options: Ben Nye Banana luxury powder

7. Cream Eyeshadow

MAC Paint pots in Rubenesque or construtivist

Cream shadows are good because they last longer than normal eyeshadows. You may also use these as bases for you powder shadow. I prefer to use these as an over color on the lid and then I’ll finish the look by liing my eyes and putting on mascara.